Death Takes a Holiday
by ilovetvalot
Summary: When the Soul Reaper who some readers will know from "Where Angels Fear To Tread" is sent to collect on one of the BAU's finest, will Jennifer Jareau be able to convince him that her life is worth living. Hotch/JJ THREESHOT
1. Chapter 1

_**NEW**__** Author's Note: Hi, guys! We've got a few notes for you today. First up, our new challenge "The Colors of the Rainbow" Prompt Challenge is now AVAILABLE for sign-up on "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. It looks like it's going to shape up into a fun challenge. Check it out.**_

_**Tonnie and I are diligently working toward our nomination ballot on the second annual "Profilers Choice Awards" hosted by Chit Chat on Author's corner forum. Our tentative date to release the categories, informational post and NOMINATION BALLOT is 8/28/11. One week, guys. So, put on your reading hat and look for those stories and authors you adore. Any of our fellow authors, please feel free to promote the awards as well. The more the merrier and we can use all the help we can get!**_

_**Additionally, we'll have some new posts going up at the forum this week. So, skip over and take a look.**_

_**Also, we're continuing to have oodles of fun with our fellow authors and readers over on facebook. I'm getting to know a lot of wonderful people over there and we've got quite the support system going. Feel free to come join the fun. Simply "friend" Ilovetvalot Fanfiction. I'll be sure to accept.**_

_**Also, we love hearing from you. So, drop a review if you have the time. They truly make our day.**_

* * *

**Death Takes a Holiday**

**Chapter One**

I watched them from a distance, keeping myself cloaked in the grey shadows of the ER hallway. Not that those shadows mattered...being the Soul Reaper had a few benefits. And, thankfully invisibility at will was one of them. I blended in well with those aforementioned shadows. Shuffling on my feet, I glanced down at the single sheet of paper in my hand.

"Jennifer Jareau," I muttered to myself with a sigh, reading the neatly written name, St. Peter's handwriting well known to me after all these millennia. The man had the writing of…well, a saint. Lifting my eyes back to the couple across the hallway, the dark haired man...Aaron Hotchner, if I recalled correctly, sat so still, his head bent over the body of the unconscious blonde woman in the bed. His soul had gone on my tentative collect list a few years ago when a building had exploded in New York City. In the end, I'd gotten a last minute retraction that had been delivered from on High by the Big Guy himself, and I'd been directed to take one of his female colleagues in his place. The solemn guy had gotten a free pass from the Almighty that day. I'd seen him again, briefly when I'd been sent in to extract his former wife.

Now, that chick had been a pistol. Haley Hotchner had bitched and whined all the way to the end of her journey without ceasing, complaining that she wasn't done yet. She had a son! The poor thing had been so certain, too, that we were on the way to visit St. Peter at the Gates. Unfortunately for her, that duplicitous nature coupled with her fickle heart had guaranteed her passage unto another realm...a much warmer final resting place to be sure. That's what she got for having an affair with the soccer coach.

This new woman, though, I hadn't dealt with on a personal level before. Oh, I knew her story...her strengths and sins, the former apparently far outweighing the latter. I had the entire report on the soul I'd been sent to collect. Saint Peter had always been thorough in his notes. I even knew where I'd be escorting her to after we departed the mortal realm. The pure aroma of a gentle soul always gave my nostrils a teasing tickle. The bad ones...they just had the stench of rotting eggs.

And the children...they always smelled like fresh baked sugar cookies. And they took the direct route to Paradise. There was a special elevator and everything.

Shaking my head, as I leaned it back against the tiled wall behind me, I sighed. Normally, I didn't mind my job so much. After all these eons, it had become mundane and truthfully, not much affected me anymore. I'd seen too many apples rotting on the tree, if you know what I mean. I'd become ambivalent about death. For me, it was neither sad, nor happy. It simply was. And it was my job.

Sure, in the early days, I got a cheap thrill out of the collection process...a contact buzz from sweeping in and punching somebody's ticket. Knowing that I had the power to take life, it'd been a heady high back in the day. A rooky has gotta have _some_ fun, you know.

Now, however...watching the two individuals across from me...not so much. Maybe I was getting old. Or, maybe I needed to take that holiday I'd been mulling over for the last century. Even the angels and Lucifer took time off every now and again...recharged those celestial batteries. Maybe exhaustion would explain that odd pang I felt within me when Aaron lifted sorrowful eyes to stare at me. Oh, I realized he couldn't actually see me...not unless I allowed it. But, something about those dark swirling orbs gave me pause. And hesitation wasn't something I was accustomed to feeling.

He'd endured such pain. That much, not even I could deny. Tragedy seemed to dog the young man...at least young by my standards. And it was obvious, even to one that had never known love, that his heart wouldn't beat much longer without the woman in the bed.

Such a waste, I thought, instantly stiffening as I realized what had just wandered through my mind.

It was true, every century I was given ten dispensations to simply walk away from a soul I was sent to collect. It had been the Almighty's interesting idea of mercy. Usually, I simply ignored the passing urges I sometimes felt. But something in this mortal's eye...it made me waver.

"Shake it off, Reaper," I growled to myself, lifting my dimpled chin and crossing my arms over my wide chest. "You gotta job to do here. And a Budweiser and football game waiting for you when you're done." Tapping my foot against the shiny floor in the hall, I tuned into my powers, trying to feel if the gentle soul had began to drift from the mortal realm.

Oh...I guess you want to know about the realms. There are three. There's the one that humans exist on...the mortal realm. Best known for flesh, blood, and often bad attitudes. Then, there's the dream realm. It serves as a cushion of sorts, between the mortal realm and the third realm. Everybody needs that little je ne c'est pas, don't you agree?

But now, the third realm was my domain, my own personal playground. The spirit realm.

From there, I escort you to wherever you need to be. And despite whatever you might tell me, where you're going in the end...that's all up to you well before you reach my list. Your choices and decisions throughout life make that call. Arguing with me...that doesn't change the destination, folks. Deal with it. Contrary to popular belief I am not a travel agent. You can't change your ticket with me.

Oh, how I wished the Creator would give this little lecture before he sent the souls out into the big, bad world.

But, nope. He left that little sermon to me. And honestly, sometimes I could identify with Lucifer's shitty attitude toward the Heavenly Father. It was true, in my humble opinion. The Big Guy really could take this free will thing to extremes.

Of course, I simply reminded myself that ours was not to question why. Ours is but to do or die. Well, that dying part is for everyone else but me. I simply deliver death unto you.

Oh yeah, I can be philosophical, too. I can be so much more than a pretty face.

Not that many would know it. When you're pretty much known for being Death Incarnate, people tend to avoid you.

But, I digress.

I was here to collect a soul, wasn't I?


	2. Chapter 2

_**NEW**__** Author's Note: Hi, guys! We've got a few notes for you today. First up, our new challenge "The Colors of the Rainbow" Prompt Challenge is now AVAILABLE for sign-up on "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. It looks like it's going to shape up into a fun challenge. Check it out.**_

_**Tonnie and I are diligently working toward our nomination ballot on the second annual "Profilers Choice Awards" hosted by Chit Chat on Author's corner forum. Our tentative date to release the categories, informational post and NOMINATION BALLOT is 8/28/11. One week, guys. So, put on your reading hat and look for those stories and authors you adore. Any of our fellow authors, please feel free to promote the awards as well. The more the merrier and we can use all the help we can get!**_

_**Additionally, we'll have some new posts going up at the forum this week. So, skip over and take a look.**_

_**Also, we're continuing to have oodles of fun with our fellow authors and readers over on facebook. I'm getting to know a lot of wonderful people over there and we've got quite the support system going. Feel free to come join the fun. Simply "friend" Ilovetvalot Fanfiction. I'll be sure to accept.**_

_**Also, we love hearing from you. So, drop a review if you have the time. They truly make our day.**_

* * *

**Death Takes a Holiday**

**Chapter Two**

Feeling the familiar tingle begin in my spine as Jennifer Jareau's soul fluttered between the dream and spiritual realm, I pushed away from the wall. "Time to go to work," I sighed, telepathically transporting myself to the Spirit World once again.

I found her transparent form easily. She'd only become a solid form after she'd taken that final step from life into death. For now, she wandered around the stone bench beneath a willow tree aimlessly as if searching for the magical exit to transport her back to her life. It was a sight I was well accustomed to viewing. All too often, souls arrived here disoriented and frightened. It was my job to put them at ease as quickly as possible. Doing so made my job a lot less difficult, and I was all about the path of least resistance.

"Hello," I called out softly, not wanting to alarm my newest guest. I like to think of myself as a gracious host.

I watched as she turned sharply, her wavering wide blue eyes instantly alert. Holding up my hand in greeting, I pasted my most convincing smile on the face I'd chosen to assume today. "Hello, JJ. How are you?"

Yeah, I knew it was a dumb question. She was dying, which most people would agree sucked. But I'd learned a long time ago that a little nice went a long way with the more pure souls. Do unto others and all that.

"Who are you?" she asked me sharply, the question almost an accusation. "Where am I?" she questioned, raising her voice as she looked frantically around. "And how do you know who I am?"

Taking a deep breath, I slowly stepped forward, holding her information sheet up slightly. "It's all right here. I know most everything there is to know about you, JJ."

"Jennifer," she corrected harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Only my friends call me JJ. And since you don't know me, and I sure as hell don't know you, you certainly don't qualify as my friend."

Crap, I thought tiredly. That pertinent bit of information had been on the sheet. I really needed to do a better job of remembering the tiny details, didn't I? "I apologize," I said, bobbing my head. "Jennifer, then," I said, consulting my paper to make sure I was right. The distant moons of Pluto were looking more appealing by the second.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing on me suspiciously.

"Well, people call me a lot of things. Soul Reaper. The Grim Reaper," I said, beginning my litany, one I knew by heart.

"Oh, holy crap! You're the Angel of Death!" she gasped, her corporeal form taking a step back from me.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "That one's a misnomer. Trust me, lady. I'm nobody's idea of an angel. Let's make things easier, shall we?" I said amiably, finding myself for some reason wanting to put her at ease. "You can call me Bob," I told her helpfully.

"Seriously?" she balked. "Bob" she choked, her eyes huge on her pale face.

"Or Bobby, if you prefer," I offered generously. "I could tell you my celestial name, but nobody ever gets it right and it becomes a nightmare. Bob is just easier."

Blinking rapidly, she stared at me with something close to horror before shaking her head frantically. "No! Nuh uh," she began denying, scrubbing a hand against her eyes. "Nightmare, he says. This is a dream. This has to be a dream!"

"Nope," I denied with a long-suffering sigh, having heard these very words countless times before. So far, it was pretty standard fare from her. "That was one realm over."

"Pardon me?" she yelped, almost indignantly as she glared at me.

"Look, lady...I mean, Jennifer...what do you remember from earlier?" I asked her calmly, trying to affect my most charming smile. It was becoming patently obvious that she was going to be no quick get. And damn it, I really wanted to see kickoff for the Colts/Steelers game.

After all, a ghoul has to have his vices. And I've earned mine in spades.

"Earlier?" she echoed faintly.

I could see her straining to remember...to grasp onto those last coherent moments in her life. Ah, I thought…almost there.

"I was in the car...going to see Hotch and..." she trailed off, closing her eyes. "There was a truck."

"Yes," I nodded gravely. "There was a truck. It hit your car."

Eyes popping open, she shook her head. "I'm not dead! I can't be. I don't want to be," she babbled, her throat working convulsively as she struggled to process her surroundings.

"Very few ever want to be." I shrugged, used to the same old objections. Humans were not very original creatures, in spite of what the Big Man liked to believe. "But, mortals are dying from the moment they're born." Evidently, I might need some new material, too, if the look on my current query's face was any indication.

Lifting her chin, JJ shook her head. "Am I dead?" she asked, fighting to keep the fear from her voice.

Well, I had to be honest, didn't I? While there were no set in stone rules for what I did, I'd developed a personal code of sorts over the eons. And rule numero uno was to never lie to the soon-to-be dearly departed. And something about her demanded that I be extra truthful. "Not yet," I replied softly. "But, it's just a matter of time, Jennifer. Technically, you've yet to cut the last strings to your mortal life." Gesturing toward the small pond a few yards away from the bench, I gestured to her. "Come and see for yourself," I suggested, striding toward the clear blue pool of water, my window to the mortal realm.

Glancing over at her when she stood frozen to the spot she stood in, I gestured again. "C'mon. See for yourself, Jennifer. This will be much easier for you if you can wrap your mind around the fact that this is really happening."

"I don't want it to be happening! Especially now," she whispered to me even as she took a tentative step forward. "There's so much I haven't had time...I have a baby. Oh, God! Henry!" she screamed at me, squeezing her eyes shut again as she shook her head rapidly from side to side.

"He's safe," I rushed to assure her. A panicked soul was always a trial to deal with. And when that soul was a mother that felt like her child might be in jeopardy, the stakes shot through the roof. "His car seat protected him. I'm not here for him, I swear."

"I'm still alive," she insisted through barely moving lips.

"For now," I agreed, my tone as neutral as hers was adamant. "Right now, your essence hovers between the dream and spirit realm. It's not mine to take just yet," I added. "But this will be easier for you if you just let go, Jennifer." Glancing into the water at the scene below, I murmured, "Just come take a look. You need to see this," I said, reaching for her slender hand.


	3. Chapter 3

_**NEW**__** Author's Note: Hi, guys! We've got a few notes for you today. First up, our new challenge "The Colors of the Rainbow" Prompt Challenge is now AVAILABLE for sign-up on "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. It looks like it's going to shape up into a fun challenge. Check it out.**_

_**Tonnie and I are diligently working toward our nomination ballot on the second annual "Profilers Choice Awards" hosted by Chit Chat on Author's corner forum. Our tentative date to release the categories, informational post and NOMINATION BALLOT is 8/28/11. One week, guys. So, put on your reading hat and look for those stories and authors you adore. Any of our fellow authors, please feel free to promote the awards as well. The more the merrier and we can use all the help we can get!**_

_**Additionally, we'll have some new posts going up at the forum this week. So, skip over and take a look.**_

_**Also, we're continuing to have oodles of fun with our fellow authors and readers over on facebook. I'm getting to know a lot of wonderful people over there and we've got quite the support system going. Feel free to come join the fun. Simply "friend" Ilovetvalot Fanfiction. I'll be sure to accept.**_

_**Also, we love hearing from you. So, drop a review if you have the time. They truly make our day. And honestly, I'm really curious to know what you guys think of the Soul Reaper. He, Satan and Gabriel (from Where Angels Fear to Tread) are three OCs it's been a blast to write...I wanna know if reading them was just as fun!**_

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**Death Takes a Holiday**

**Chapter Three**

"Don't you dare touch me, you Peyton Manning looking wannabe soul sucker," JJ ordered, shying away from my touch like a virgin in Pompeii. "I don't know who you think you are, but if you think I'll willingly walk into the Great Hereafter with you, you'll be waiting until the Second Coming!"

"Hey!" I squawked, sparing a momentary thought that I hated when my voice went that high...not very deity-like at all. "Not cool! I took this particular form because I thought it would put you at ease...Midwestern farm girl from a rural town...you guys love that, right?" I griped, touching my jaw. Hell, everybody loved Peyton Manning, didn't they?

"I'm from Pennsylvania, you moron. And I played soccer," she hissed, her flickering eyes narrowing.

"Damn!" I complained, dropping my eyes to her information sheet again, shaking my head as I scanned the pertinent sections. "I really need to read these things closer."

"You certainly don't sound like any angel I ever imagined," she snorted, raking me with her eyes, now bright and angry.

"I already told you...that's a fallacy. I'm no angel. I'm a free agent. I work for both sides of the celestial fence, chica. And right now, I'm thinking they might have gotten your ultimate destination entirely wrong," I muttered under my breath, still stinging from the diss to my quarterback idol. Even an eternal being can have a hero, can't he? Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Would you prefer I took the form of David Beckham?"

"I'd prefer you send me BACK to my life," she yelled irately, waving her arms in the air as if she was swatting at a swarm of bees.

Glancing at my watch - yeah, Timex still worked in the spirit realm - I realized that my chances of catching kickoff were diminishing by the passing second. Clearing my throat, I shoved my hands in my jeans pockets. "Look, I don't usually give away the ending, but if it helps any, you're going up and not down."

"Huh?" she grunted at me, one hand landing on her hip as she glared at me.

"You know, Eternal Paradise...streets paved with goal, a never ending day...all that jazz," I replied, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. Honestly, couldn't I have just had an easy one for today?

"I don't care if it rains hundred dollar bills every other day, I want to stay here," JJ pleaded with me, her eyes starting to tear.

Glancing into the crystal water, I frowned, watching as Aaron Hotchner lovingly caressed her mortal face, his lips moving in silent prayer. Even here, I could hear his mind pleading with the Almighty for one more chance. "What's with you and him?" I asked without conscious thought, jerking my head toward the water.

Watching as she glided toward me, her head tentatively peeked around my shoulder. "Aaron," she whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips. "Oh, God, Aaron," she moaned.

"I know who he is," I rolled my eyes impatiently. Why was it that humans might hear a question, but they never really listened to what was being said. Lifting her sheet, I glanced at it. "It says right here that Aaron Hotchner is your boss."

"He is," she said weakly.

Raising an eyebrow as I watched the reflection in the pool, I shook my head. "That looks like a lot more than a professional relationship," I noted as I watched the younger man brush a wayward strand of her mortal hair from her temple with gentle fingers.

Granted, I didn't know much about human emotion. I'd never been in love before...hadn't experienced it firsthand - and believe me, I'm more than a little relieved about that. But, I'd seen it. Multiple times.

And this was definitely it.

"I...we...I don't know," she breathed, her corporeal form blinking back tears of anguish.

"Seriously?" I grunted, offering her a sidelong glance that plainly said I didn't believe her.

"We never talked about how we felt," she said defensively, frowning at me.

"That was dumb," I said truthfully, having reached the point in my life where I no longer had to mince words. "You humans...always with the taking time for granted. It's not endless, you know. As this little experience should illustrate, it's very, very finite."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Phil," the woman at my side retorted. "Like I need a psych lesson NOW!"

"Sorry," I apologized sheepishly, feeling like I was standing in front of Mother Teresa when she first arrived in heaven. I could admit, this woman had a valid point. What she had or hadn't said...it didn't matter now.

Or did it, I asked myself, turning my head to study the obviously miserable woman. "Do you love him as much as it appears he loves you?"

"None of your business," JJ said sharply, taking a step back from the painful image below. It was obvious that she wanted more, and I could almost hear her think that she wanted her son...she wanted her life...she wanted Aaron.

"Actually, it is," I said, matching her tone. Why did women have to be so much harder than guys to convince? Sighing, I licked my lips as I assessed her. "Even if I could arrange for you to go back...you'd have a long, painful haul ahead of you. Your pelvis has been crushed. Your brain is swelling...," I trailed off, glancing over my shoulder again to view the injured woman below. "There'd be no pain in the Afterlife for you."

"Pain is just God's way of reminding you that you're alive," JJ countered, her sky blue eyes focusing on me. "It makes you fight harder for the things that matter. Like my son."

"And Aaron?" I asked, raising an inquisitive brow.

Biting her lip, she slowly nodded. "I love him," she said simply.

"I'm no expert, but in my opinion, the feeling is returned tenfold," I said, my fine tuned hearing picking up Hotchner's pleas from below.

"I hope so," JJ whispered, her words literally a whispered breath.

Running a hand over my face, I groaned. "I'm getting soft! You're actually getting to me," I accused her, frankly annoyed by this alien feeling pervading me.

"What?" JJ asked curiously.

"Definitely time for a vacation," I mumbled into my palms before dropping my hands to face her transparent form. She was a pretty little thing, standing there in her flowing gossamer dress. I could see what the other guy might be attracted to. "Here's the deal, lady. I get ten special dispensations per century where I can just walk away from you."

"Walk away?" JJ repeated, confusion etching her face.

"Yeah, walk away," I muttered as I nodded. "Meaning, you go back to your life, such that it is," I said with a pointed glance back at the pond. "And you make the most of it. That means, you stop putting off until tomorrow what needs to happen today." Just great, I thought grimly. Now I sounded like a country and western song.

"You'd do that?" she whispered hopefully, taking a tentative step forward.

"That depends on you. Do you agree to my terms?" I asked irritably. I couldn't believe I was freaking doing this. It meant forms and paperwork. Yeah, heaven has bureaucracy...so did hell. No matter where you went, that was a constancy. Isn't _that comforting? _And besides all that, there was gonna be a trip before the Almighty Himself, I mentally griped.

"Yes!" JJ replied eagerly, fairly leaping at the opportunity.

"Craaaappp," I groaned aloud. "I really am gonna miss the game." Huffing out a breath, I nodded. "Fine," I said shortly, "but, be aware, the next time I come for you, the trip goes one way, Jennifer Jareau," I warned before flicking my fingers at her, sending her hurtling back toward her mortal life.

Unable to resist, I turned to stare into the pond again, watching as the man beside her hospital bed suddenly smiled through his tears when her mortal eyes flashed open.

It was touching. Really, it was.

And it might - and that was a BIG might - just be worth missing Peyton Manning kicking the Steelers' collective asses.

_**Finis**_


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